As you know, Jesus of Nazareth died and was buried some time ago, but the questions those events raised are still with us. Was Jesus just the son of Joseph and Mary and nothing else, or was he the son of God as he and his followers claim?

As the judge has informed you, there is no doubt that Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross on a Friday. The only question for you to consider is whether or not he came back to life on the third day.

The prosecutor has relied on the fact that you have never known a dead person to come back to life, and has cast aspersions on our witnesses who have testified that they saw Jesus alive after he was executed.

Since none of you have actually seen Jesus since he was executed, we are asking you to believe credible witnesses who have seen him. I would remind you that court cases are always decided by juries who hear witnesses and decide on the basis of the witnessesí testimony on the issues before them.

My first witnesses were hostile witnesses. They were the Roman guards whose duty it was to guard Jesusí tomb so none of his believers could steal his body and claim he was alive. They reluctantly admitted that somehow, they didnít know how, the huge rock sealing the grave was rolled back and Jesusí body disappeared while they were on guard.

Next witnesses were two women who started preparing Jesusí body for burial but did not get to complete the job by sundown Friday before the Sabbath began. They returned to the tomb on Sunday hoping to persuade the guards to let them complete the job of preparing the body for burial. To their consternation, the guards were not there and the tomb was empty. They approached a man whom they believed to be the gardener and tearfully asked him what had happened to Jesusí body. As soon as they got themselves under control, they realized they were talking to Jesus and he was alive! They rushed to the place where the disciples were hiding to tell them the good news.

Unfortunately, the disciples didnít believe the women, but the next witness, Peter, testified that he rushed to the tomb and, sure enough, it was empty.

Our next witnesses were two men who had been walking the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus as they discussed the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. A stranger joined them and they were amazed to find out that he apparently had not heard about this trial and crucifixion. They invited him to eat with them and to ask the blessing. When he did this, they realized it was Jesus and he disappeared. They immediately rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive.

Page 2 of 2 - The disciples were our next witnesses. They found it impossible to believe the almost hysterical women who claimed Jesus was alive. They were still doubtful when the two men from Emmaus told them the same thing. But then Jesus himself appeared in a locked room where they were gathered, talked to them, ate with them, and invited them to touch the wounds he received while on the cross, before disappearing again. They could fail to believe no longer. However, the disciples and other followers saw him from time to time for the next 40 days.

In his various appearances, Jesus told those who saw him that he would meet them later on the mountain. As they have testified, they told others and when they got to the mountain, Jesus was there. As you can imagine, I would gladly have offered the hundreds of people who saw and heard Jesus at the mountain as witnesses, but the judge only let me put up ten or twelve of them. They told you that Jesus was there, looking great, and preaching like Godís son, which he was. They swore that Jesus reminded the crowd gathered on the mountain that all power in heaven and on earth was his and that he was giving them their marching orders.

They testified to you, the jury, that Jesus ordered them to go everywhere and tell everyone that Jesus, Godís son, had come to earth to save them from having to pay the price for their sins, provided they believed in him. He further promised them that wherever they went telling the good news, he would be with them. They also testified that they witnessed Jesus ascend in to heaven. Then an angel came and reminded them that they were to go to all the world telling the good news.

So ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I contend that by believable witnesses, we have shown beyond a reasonable doubt that this Jesus who died on Friday was alive on Sunday, putting Godís stamp of approval on everything he had said or done.

I urge you to come back with a verdict that acknowledge that Jesus who died is now alive and offers salvation to all who reach a similar verdict.